Method for transmitting messages in a telecommunication network

ABSTRACT

A method is provided for transmitting messages, for example, in a telecommunications network, in which a first message service and a second message service are available. Dedicated messages of the first message service are sent using messages of the second message service. An exemplary method may permit an optimized transmission scheme to be maintained for the dedicated messages of the first message service.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for transmitting messages in atelecommunications network, in which a first message service and asecond message service are available.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Although it may be used in principle for any multimedia message serviceand telecommunications network, an exemplary embodiment according to thepresent invention and the problem on which it is based are explainedwith regard to the MMS service (MMS=Multimedia Messaging Service), whichis specified within the framework of the standardization of 3GPP (3rdGeneration Project Program) and may be used, for example, in the GSMsystem (GSM=Global System for Mobile Communications) and the UMTS system(UMTS=Universal Mobile Telecommunication System).

There exists short message services, which may be used to send a shortmessage to a subscriber of the telecommunications network without firsthaving to establish a telecommunications connection to the subscriber.

This may be important in mobile radio communication systems such as GSM,since their subscribers may not be reached. In this context, incomingshort messages for the subscriber may be stored by a telecommunicationscarrier of the telecommunications network, when the subscriber cannot bereached. At a later time, when the subscriber may be reached again, theshort message is then automatically transmitted to the subscriber.

The SMS service (SMS=Short Message Service) is a short message servicefollowing the GSM standard. In this context, up to 160 7-bit ASCIImessage characters (ASCII=American Standard Code for InformationInterchange) may be transmitted in a short message. Concatenated shortmessages permit the transmission of longer texts. Since only texttransmission according to the GSM standard is provided, binary data,such as audio data, image data, etc., should be converted to text formatwhen transmitted, and reconverted to binary format after being received.

In this process, it may only be possible to access the entire content ofa short message. In this manner, data of the short message, which theaddressed subscriber may not desire, may be transmitted to thesubscriber, who only receives an overview of the content of the shortmessage after having received the complete short message from thetelecommunications carrier.

FIG. 4 shows the principal structure of a first type A of an SMS shortmessage in GSM.

In general, an SMS short message SM of the first type A includes aheader SM-H and a data portion SM-D. Header SM-H includes signalinginputs and the receiver address of a message to be sent, and the senderaddress of a message to be received. Data portion SM-D includes theactual message to be transmitted.

Transmitters and receivers are identified by the MSISDN (MobileSubscriber Integrated Services Digital Network) number in accordancewith GSM 03.40 V7.1.0 (11/1998) Technical Realization of the ShortMessage Service (SMS); Point-to-Point (PP) and 3G 23.040 V3.2.0(10/1999) Technical Realization of the Short Message Service (SMS); andPoint-to-Point (PP).

A second header (user data header SM-DH) may optionally be present indata portion SM-D. If so, then the presence of the second header isindicated by a corresponding signaling input in header SM-H. Varioustypes of SMS user data headers are already specified in GSM 03.40/3G23.040. Different types of user data headers SM-DH are distinguished byan identification element in user data header SM-DH.

The concatenation of short messages SM may be controlled, for example,by a user data header SM-DH (identifier: “08” hexadecimal). A furtherexample of a user data header SM-DH is the “Wireless Control MessageProtocol”, which is indicated by the identifier “09” in hexadecimalnotation. This may be required for the Wireless Application Protocol(WAP).

FIG. 5 shows the principal structure of a second type B of an SMS shortmessage in GSM.

In this case, an SMS short message SM′ may include a header SM-H′ and adata portion SM-D′. Header SM-H′ includes signaling inputs and thereceiver address of a message to be sent, and the sender address of amessage to be received. Data portion SM-D′ includes the actual messageto be transmitted.

Header SM-H′ includes a field, which is 8 bits wide and referred to asthe TP-PID (Transfer Protocol—Protocol Identifier). Parameter TP-PID maybe used to establish the applied protocol. For example, it may be usedto realize telematic interworking or to determine how messages arehandled in the cellular phone or SMSC (short message service center).

In telematic interworking, the TP-PID is a bit pattern of the form<00xxxxx>, that is, bit 7=0, bit 6=0, and bit 5=1.

If this bit pattern appears in the TP-PID of header SM-H′ of an SMSshort message SM′ sent by a cellular phone, then the SMSC (Short MessageService Center) is induced to convert the present SMS to a differentdata format and/or to execute a certain communications protocol. In thismanner, e.g., a fax of the group 3 may be sent by a cellular phone to afax machine in the fixed network. In this case, the value of the entireTP-PID octet is <00100010>.

If this bit pattern appears in the TP-PID of header SM-H′ of an SMSshort message SM′ received by a cellular phone, then the SMSC hasreceived a message from a non-SMS telematic service and converted it toan SMS. In this manner, e.g., an Internet e-mail may be sent from anye-mail account in the fixed network, via the service center, to acellular phone. In this case, the value of the received TP-PID octet is<00110010>.

In the case of handling messages, the TP-PID is a bit pattern of theform <01xxxxxx>, that is, bit 7=0, and bit 6=1.

If this bit pattern appears in the TP-PID of the header SM-H′ of an SMSshort message SM′ received by a cellular phone, then the SMSC causes thecellular phone to handle the message in a certain manner. In thismanner, e.g., a cellular phone may be induced by the SMSC to relay thereceived message to the SIM (subscriber identity module), where it isthen processed further in accordance with SIM application toolkits. Inthis case, the value of the received TP-PID octet is <01111111>.

If this bit pattern appears in the TP-PID of the header SM-H′ of an SMSshort message SM′ sent by a cellular phone, then, e.g., in the case ofthe bit pattern <01000001>, the SMSC is caused to overwrite an alreadypresent short message of the same cellular phone with the received shortmessage.

The MMS service is intended to permit the transmission and reception ofmultimedia messages, using a cellular phone. The current (temporary)state of standardization of MMS is found in 3G TS 23.140, MMS Stage 2,v.1.0.0. In contrast to an SMS short message, a multimedia message (MM)should not be limited to a certain length or to the display of onlytext. An MM should instead support various types of media.

The MMS relay has a central function in the MMS service. As shown in 3GTS 23.140, MMS Stage 2, v.1.0.0, this element may be connected tovarious servers (e.g. an email server, fax server, voice mailbox, andMMS server), using a large variety of media. Its purpose is to grant themobile user access to all of the information/messages on theabove-mentioned servers.

Thus, the MMS relay allows the mobile user access to e-mails on thee-mail server, or to faxes stored on a fax server, or to voice messagesrecorded in a voice mailbox, etc. Aside from the receipt of messages,the mobile user may write messages and send them to the desiredrecipient via the MMS relay.

3G TS 23.140, MMS Stage 2, v.1.0.0, provides for, inter alia, the userof the MMS service logging on to his MMS service provider (sessionestablishment). The user may then obtain a receipt for the log-on(receipt), depending on a service profile. If the MMS server containsunread messages for the user, then the user may receive a message(notification) in accordance with his/her service profile.

In this regard, an MMS server may stand for one or more arbitraryservers, e.g., one or more e-mail servers, fax servers, special MMSservers (if an independent MM format is standardized), or an arbitrarycombinations of these servers.

In the same way, the user may receive a message in accordance withhis/her service profile, when a new message arrives at the MMS serverduring an MMS session.

If his/her profile is set up so that the user does not automaticallyreceive notification of unread and/or new MM messages, then, accordingto the specification, the MMS service should allow the user toexplicitly request such a notification from the MMS relay (explicitnotification query).

In the service profile, the user may also specify whether he/she wouldlike to receive a confirmation of the success of transmitting the MM'sto other users from the service provider. In this connection, one maydistinguish between two types.

The user may receive a reply from the MMS relay indicating that his/hersent message was successfully sent to the relay via the air interface:

(ACK/NACK submission 1: positive/negative acknowledgment of submissionto relay).

In addition, the user may receive a reply from the receiver and/or fromthe MMS relay indicating that the receiver successfully received themessage:

ACK/NACK submission 2=positive/negative end-to-end acknowledgment ofsubmission to receiver.

The MMS service should also optionally permit the service provider (theMMS relay) to receive a reply regarding the success/failure of thedelivery of an MM to a subscriber:

ACK/NACK delivery.

3G TS 23.140, MMS Stage 2, v.1.0.0, 3GPP TSG T WG 2, November 1999, alsoprovides for the triggering of automatic downloading of messages by anSMS (pull-push).

The above-described functionality and messages regarding the MM arewritten in the applications level, but their implementation is open.This functionality and the messages, as well as similar functionalityand messages, may be implemented in many different forms.

It is believed that a general problem is that, in the MMS messageservice, different types of messages are sent, such as theabove-mentioned notifications from the system and actual user messages,whereby the latter may be varied in content, for example, short textmessages or long video, audio, or other messages. As a result, it isbelieved that there is no transmission scheme that is equally optimizedfor all messages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of an exemplary embodiment according to the present inventionis that predetermined messages of the first message service are sentusing messages of the second message service.

It is believed that an exemplary method according to the presentinvention has an advantage in that an optimized transmission scheme maybe maintained for the dedicated messages of the first message service.

With respect to an exemplary method according to the present invention,the SMS message service selects a transmission scheme that provides forsimple sending for the dedicated messages in the MMS. Therefore,line-oriented transmission, e.g., using GSM circuit switched data orGPRS general packet radio service or UMTS circuit or packet switcheddata that are associated with much overhead for setting up aconnection/session, may be dispensed with.

An exemplary method according to the present invention provides formessages of the second message service to be sent between thetransmitter and the receiver without line-oriented transmission.

According to another exemplary method of the present invention, adedicated, second group of messages of the first message service is sentbetween the transmitter and the receiver, using line-orientedtransmission.

Yet another exemplary method according to the present invention providesfor the first message service to include a multimedia message service,for example, the MMS message service, and/or provides for the secondmessage service to include a short message service, for example, the SMSmessage service.

Still another exemplary method according to the present inventionprovides for the first message service to include the MMS messageservice and the second message service to include the SMS messageservice. In this context, the dedicated, first group of messages of thefirst message service includes at least one of the following messages:

-   -   dedicated MMS user messages (e.g. short text messages).    -   notification of the presence of a message on the MMS server        (notification).    -   logging on to an MMS session (session establishment).    -   receipt for this log-on (receipt).    -   explicit request for a notification from the MMS relay (explicit        notification query).    -   confirmation of the reception of sent MM's in the relay        (ACK/NACK_submission_(—)1).    -   confirmation of the success in sending an MM's to other users        (ACK/NACK_submission_(—)2).    -   acknowledgment of the success/failure in delivering an MM        (ACK/NACK_delivery).    -   triggering the automatic MM-download (pull-push).

It is believed that an advantage of an exemplary method according to thepresent invention is that SMS already exists, and the use of thisservice therefore facilitates the market introduction and acceptance ofMMS. SMS permits a reliable service for the above-mentionednotifications. When SMS is used, additional signaling for transmittingnotifications is not required. SMS offers a bandwidth-friendly servicefor such simple notifications, this service also being simultaneouslyusable for ongoing connections or sessions in the GSM, GPRS, and UMTSsystems. SMS is also available in second generation cellular phones(e.g. GSM). Therefore, a user may use essential features of the MMSservice without requiring a third generation cellular phone (e.g. UMTS),which may be expensive.

According to another exemplary method of the present invention, the SMSshort message is provided with a data portion, which has at least one ofthe following elements for establishing the message of the first messageservice: identification of the type of message of the first messageservice and/or content of the message of the first message service.

According to yet another exemplary method of the present invention, thelength of the message of the first message service is specified as afurther element for establishing the message of the first messageservice.

Still another exemplary method according to the present inventionprovides for at least a portion of the elements being accommodated in auser-data header of the SMS short message.

Yet another exemplary method according to the present invention providesfor the user-data header being constructed in WCMP format, in which themessage of the first message service is embedded.

According to still another exemplary method of the present invention,the SMS short message is provided with a header, which has an identifierfor indicating the presence of a message of the first message service inthe data portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the structure of an SMS short message of the first type Ain GSM in accordance with a first exemplary method of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of an SMS short message of the first type Ain GSM, in accordance with a second exemplary method of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of an SMS short message of the second type Bin GSM, in accordance with a third exemplary method of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 shows the principal structure of a first type A of SMS in GSM.

FIG. 5 shows the principal structure of a second type B of SMS shortmessage in GSM.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In FIGS. 1 through 5, identical reference symbols denote identical orfunctionally equivalent elements.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of an SMS short message of the first type Ain GSM in accordance with a first exemplary method of the presentinvention.

In the first exemplary embodiment, the first message service is the MMSmessage service, the second message service is the SMS message service,and the dedicated, first group of messages of the MMS message serviceincludes:

-   -   dedicated MMS user messages (e.g. short text messages).    -   notification of the presence of a message on the MMS server        (notification).    -   logging on to an MMS session (session establishment).    -   receipt for this log-on (receipt).    -   explicit request for a notification from the MMS relay (explicit        notification query).    -   confirmation of the reception of sent MM's in the relay        (ACK/NACK_submission_(—)1).    -   confirmation of the success in sending MM's to other users        (ACK/NACK_submission_(—)2).    -   acknowledgment of the success/failure in delivering an MM        (ACK/NACK_delivery).    -   triggering the automatic MM-download (pull-push).

FIG. 1 shows user-data header SM-DH of a type-A SMS short message forestablishing a session with the MMS service.

In header SM-H, the presence of a user-data header SM-DH is indicated byflag TP-UDHI=1 in accordance with the standards GSM 03.40 V7.1.0(11/1998) Technical Realization of the Short Message Service (SMS);Point-to-Point (PP) und 3G 23.040 V3.2.0 (10/1999) Technical Realizationof the Short Message Service (SMS); and Point-to-Point (PP).

The formatting of user-data header SM-DH also conforms to the standards.User-data header SM-DH begins with user-data header length UHL followedby identification UHI of the first header element which, for example,may include the MMS session establishment header (hex. 22). This is thenfollowed by length UHEL of the first header element which, for example,may include the necessary length for the MMS session establishmentheader information. Finally, the MMS session establishment header datafields UHD are provided, which may include, for example, the user ID andthe user profile ID. Using the user ID, the user authenticates himselfto his/her service provider, and using the profile ID, the user selectsthe service/user profile desired for this MMS session.

This information in the user-data header SM-DH may be succeeded byfurther user data header elements, e.g., for SMS concatenation, and, forexample, beginning with identification UHI′ of the second headerelement, the further user data header elements being constructed in amanner analogous to the first header element.

If only the MMS session establishment header (hex. 22 in the example) ispresent, the above-mentioned standard stipulates that the necessary SMSheader/SMS user data header fields be encoded as follows:

SMS header: TP-UDHI=1 (user data header is present),

SMS user data header:

-   -   UDHL=user data header length UHL.    -   IEI=UHI=22 (user data header identification=hex. 22 for MMS        session establishment).    -   IEIDL=length of this user data header element UHEL.    -   further information: user ID, profile ID.    -   SMS data: empty, or additional SMS user data header or text        message.

A unique user data header indicator UHI should be defined for each typeof dedicated MMS message.

A mapping table may appear as follows:

TABLE 1 Exemplary Assignment of Information Element Identifiers (IEI)Type of Dedicated MMS Message IEI-Code MMS user message 20 MMSnotification 21 MMS session establishment 22 MMS receipt (ofestablishment) 23 MMS explicit notification-query 24 MMS ACK/NACK ofsubmission (1) 25 MMS ACK/NACK of submission (2) 26 MMS ACK/NACK ofdelivery 27 MMS pull-push 28

FIG. 2 shows the structure of an SMS short message of the first type Ain GSM, in accordance with a second exemplary method of the presentinvention.

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is similar to the firstexemplary embodiment described above, except that, in the example forthe MMS session establishment, it includes a WCMP (wireless controlmessage protocol) user data header having an embedded MMS protocol.

Identification UHI of this user data header is executed in the form ofhexadecimal 09, in accordance with the standards GSM 03.40 V7.1.0(11/1998) Technical Realization of the Short Message Service (SMS);Point-to-Point (PP) and 3G 23.040 V3.2.0 (10/1999) Technical Realizationof the Short Message Service (SMS); and Point-to-Point (PP).

As shown in FIG. 2, user data header SM-DH begins with user data headerlength UHL, followed by identification UHI of the first header, whichmay include, for example, hex. 09 for WCMP. This is then followed by thelength of the user data header element UHEL, which may include, forexample, the necessary length of the WCMP header (including the entireembedded MMS protocol). Finally, the WCMP fields in the MMS protocol areprovided, which are referred to as MMSP. These include a designationMMSI (also called an MMS identifier), which indicates that an MMSprotocol is implemented using the WCMP field. The subsequent identifierMMSNI indicates the type of MMS protocol. It therefore specifies thetype of MMS message, and consequently corresponds to the content ofparameter UHI in the first exemplary embodiment. Parameter MMSCindicates the user ID and profile ID in the example of MMS sessionestablishment.

Similarly to the first exemplary embodiment according to the presentinvention, a unique indicator should be defined for each type ofmessage.

A mapping table may appear as follows:

TABLE 2 Exemplary Assignment of MMSNI Codes Type of Dedicated MMSMessage MMSNI-Code MMS user message 0 MMS notification 1 MMS sessionestablishment 2 MMS receipt (of establishment) 3 MMS explicitnotification-query 4 MMS ACK/NACK of submission (1) 5 MMS ACK/NACK ofsubmission (2) 6 MMS ACK/NACK of delivery 7 MMS pull-push 8

FIG. 3 shows the structure of an SMS short message of the second type Bin GSM, in accordance with a third exemplary method of the presentinvention.

While the first and second exemplary embodiments described above use theuser data header to produce MMS notifications, the TP-PID may be usedfor identifying such a notification. If so, the service centerparticipates in the protocol whereas, in the first and second exemplaryembodiments described above, the service center only forwards the datain a transparent manner.

In the third exemplary method according to the present invention, it ispresumed that the MMS relay executes a special MMS protocol with theSMSC, e.g., notifications for the user are transmitted from the MMSrelay to the SMSC in a special MMS format, to transmit these messages tothe user or transmit notifications from the user to the MMS relay, viathe SMSC.

In the SMSC, these notifications are then converted from SMS into theMMS format (and vice versa), in a manner similar to how SMS is convertedto fax.

For this purpose, parameter TP-PID in SMS short message SM′ is set to aspecific value MMSI for the MMS service. This specification establishes,for both the transmitter and receiver, that further information specificto MMS protocol follows in the user data. The appearance of these may beas follows.

An additional MMS message identifier MMNSI′ may indicate the type ofnotification, e.g., an MMS session establishment, which is sent from theuser to the MMS relay. For example, these identifiers MMNSI′ may againbe constructed similar to the parameters MMSNI in Table 2, and may use 8bits for display. A field MMSL, which may be, e.g., 8 bits wide, definesthe length of the following MMS information items, MMSC. These areindependent of the type of notification. With respect to the MMS sessionestablishment, the user ID and the ID of the desired profile may becommunicated in MMSC, as described above.

Depending on whether telematic interworking or message handling isdesired, the TP-PID may be in the form <001xxxxx> (e.g. <00110011>) or<01xxxxxx> (e.g. <01001000>).

Although three exemplary methods according to the present invention aredescribed above, the present invention is not limited to these exemplaryembodiments, but rather may be modified in various ways.

For example, the present invention is not limited to telecommunicationsnetworks and their services. In addition, the structure of shortmessages may be varied. Other criteria, such as network utilization,etc., may also be used to determine which messages of the first messageservice are to be sent by the second message service.

1. A method for transmitting messages in a telecommunications networkincluding a first message service and a second message service, themethod comprising: sending a dedicated, first group of messages of thefirst message service using messages of the second message service, thesecond message service being a short message service, a short messagebeing provided with a first data portion including an identification ofa type of message of the first message service; wherein the shortmessage includes an identifier in the first data portion of the shortmessage for indicating a presence of a message of the first messageservice, and wherein the identifier is distinct from the message of thefirst message service wherein the first message service includes an MMSmessage service and the second message service includes an SMS messageservice, and the dedicated, first group of messages of the first messageservice includes at least one of the following messages: dedicated MMSuser messages, notification of the presence of a message on the MMSserver, logging on to an MMS session, receipt for the logging on,explicit request for a notification from the MMS relay, confirmation ofreception of sent MMs in the relay, confirmation of success in sendingMMs to other users, acknowledgment of success/failure in delivering anMM, and triggering automatic MM-download.
 2. A method for transmittingmessages in a telecommunications network including a first messageservice and a second message service, the method comprising: sending adedicated, first group of messages of the first message service usingmessages of the second message service, the second message service beinga short message service, a short message being provided with a firstdata portion including an identification of a type of message of thefirst message service; wherein the short message includes an identifierin the first data portion of the short message for indicating a presenceof a message of the first message service in the data portion, whereinthe identifier is distinct from the message of the first messageservice, and wherein the message of the first message service istransmitted in the first data portion, wherein the short messageincludes a second data portion, the second data portion including atleast one of the following elements for defining the message of thefirst message service: identification of the type of message of thefirst message service, and a content of the message of the first messageservice, and wherein a length of the message of the first messageservice is specified as an element for defining the message of the firstmessage service.
 3. A method for transmitting messages in atelecommunications network including a first message service and asecond message service, the method comprising: sending a dedicated,first group of messages of the first message service by messages of thesecond message service, the second message service being a short messageservice, a short message being provided with a first data portionincluding an identification of a type of message of the first messageservice; wherein the short message of said short message service istransmitted in said data portion, wherein the short message includes anidentifier for indicating a presence in the first data portion of theshort message of the first message service, and wherein the identifieris distinct from the message of the first message service; wherein theshort message includes a second data portion, the second data portionincluding at least one of the following elements for defining themessage of the first message service: identification of the type ofmessage of the first message service, and a content of the message ofthe first message service; and wherein a user data header of the shortmessage includes at least a portion of the elements for defining themessage of the first message service.
 4. A method for transmittingmessages in a telecommunications network including a first messageservice and a second message service, the method comprising: sending adedicated, first group of messages of the first message service usingmessages of the second message service, the second message, servicebeing a short message service, a short message being provided with afirst data portion including an identification of a type of message ofthe first message service; wherein the short message includes anidentifier in the first data portion of the short message for indicatinga presence of a message of the first message service in the dataportion, wherein the identifier is distinct from the message of thefirst message service, and wherein the message of the first messageservice is transmitted in the first data portion wherein the shortmessage includes a second data portion, the second data portionincluding at least one of the following elements for defining themessage of the first message service: identification of the type ofmessage of the first message service, and a content of the message ofthe first message service, wherein a user data header of the shortmessage includes at least a portion of the elements for defining themessage of the first message service, and wherein the user data headeris constructed in WCMP format.
 5. A method for transmitting messages ina telecommunications network including a first message service and asecond message service, the method comprising: sending a dedicated,first group of messages of the first message service by messages of thesecond message service, the second message service being a short messageservice, a short message being provided with a first data portionincluding an identification of a type of message of the first messageservice; wherein the short message of said short message service istransmitted in said data portion, wherein the short message includes anidentifier for indicating a presence in the first data portion of theshort message of the first message service, wherein the identifier isdistinct from the message of the first message service, wherein themessages of the second message service are sent between a transmitterand a receiver without line-oriented transmission, and wherein the shortmessage includes a second data portion, the second data portionincluding at least one of the following elements for defining themessage of the first message service: identification of the type ofmessage of the first message service, and a content of the message ofthe first message service.
 6. A method for transmitting messages in atelecommunications network including a first message service and asecond message service, the method comprising: sending a dedicated,first group of messages of the first message service by messages of thesecond message service, the second message service being a short messageservice, a short message being provided with a first data portionincluding an identification of a type of message of the first messageservice; wherein the short message of said short message service istransmitted in said data portion, wherein the short message includes anidentifier for indicating a presence in the first data portion of theshort message of the first message service, and wherein the identifieris distinct from the message of the first message service, wherein adedicated second group of messages of the first message service is sentbetween a transmitter and a receiver using line-oriented transmission,and wherein the short message includes a second data portion, the seconddata portion including at least one of the following elements fordefining the message of the first message service: identification of thetype of message of the first message service, and a content of themessage of the first message service.
 7. A method for transmittingmessages in a telecommunications network including a first messageservice and a second message service, the method comprising: sending adedicated, first group of messages of the first message service bymessages of the second message service, the second message service beinga short message service, a short message being provided with a firstdata portion including an identification of a type of message of thefirst message service; wherein the short message of said short messageservice is transmitted in said data portion, wherein the short messageincludes an identifier for indicating a presence in the first dataportion of the short message of the first message service, and whereinthe identifier is distinct from the message of the first messageservice; wherein the messages of the second message service are sentbetween a transmitter and a receiver without line-oriented transmission;and wherein one of the following is satisfied: (i) the first messageservice includes a multimedia message service; (ii) the short messageincludes a second data portion, the second data portion including atleast one of the following elements for defining the message of thefirst message service: identification of the type of message of thefirst message service, and a content of the message of the first messageservice; (iii) a user data header of the short message includes at leasta portion of the elements for defining the message of the first messageservice; and (iv) a header of the short message includes an identifierfor indicating a presence of the message of the first message service.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first message service includes amultimedia message service.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the shortmessage includes a second data portion, the second data portionincluding at least one of the following elements for defining themessage of the first message service: identification of the type ofmessage of the first message service, and a content of the message ofthe first message service.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein a userdata header of the short message includes at least a portion of theelements for defining the message of the first message service.
 11. Themethod of claim 7, wherein a header of the short message includes anidentifier for indicating a presence of the message of the first messageservice.
 12. A method for transmitting messages in a telecommunicationsnetwork including a first message service and a second message service,the method comprising: sending a dedicated, first group of messages ofthe first message service by messages of the second message service, thesecond message service being a short message service, a short messagebeing provided with a first data portion including an identification ofa type of message of the first message service; wherein the shortmessage of said short message service is transmitted in said dataportion, wherein the short message includes an identifier for indicatinga presence in the first data portion of the short message of the firstmessage service, and wherein the identifier is distinct from the messageof the first message service; wherein a dedicated second group ofmessages of the first message service is sent between a transmitter anda receiver using line-oriented transmission; and wherein one of thefollowing is satisfied: (i) the first message service includes amultimedia message service; (ii) the short message includes a seconddata portion, the second data portion including at least one of thefollowing elements for defining the message of the first messageservice: identification of the type of message of the first messageservice, and a content of the message of the first message service;(iii) a user data header of the short message includes at least aportion of the elements for defining the message of the first messageservice; and (iv) a header of the short message includes an identifierfor indicating a presence of the message of the first message service.13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first message service includes amultimedia message service.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein theshort message includes a second data portion, the second data portionincluding at least one of the following elements for defining themessage of the first message service: identification of the type ofmessage of the first message service, and a content of the message ofthe first-message service.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein a userdata header of the short message includes at least a portion of theelements for defining the message of the first message service.
 16. Themethod of claim 12, wherein a header of the short message includes anidentifier for indicating a presence of the message of the first messageservice.
 17. A method for transmitting messages in a telecommunicationsnetwork including a first message service and a second message service,the method comprising: sending a dedicated, first group of messages ofthe first message service by messages of the second message service;wherein the first message service includes an MMS message serviceaccording to the 3GPP system, and the dedicated, first group of messagesof the first message service includes at least one of the followingmessages: dedicated MMS user messages, confirmation of reception of sentMMs in the relay, confirmation of success in sending MMs to other users,and acknowledgment of success/failure in delivering an MM; wherein themessages of the second message service are sent between a transmitterand a receiver without line-oriented transmission; and wherein one ofthe following is satisfied: (i) the first message service includes amultimedia message service; (ii) the short message includes a seconddata portion, the second data portion including at least one of thefollowing elements for defining the message of the first messageservice: identification of the type of message of the first messageservice, and a content of the message of the first message service;(iii) a user data header of the short message includes at least aportion of the elements for defining the message of the first messageservice; and (iv) a header of the short message includes an identifierfor indicating a presence of the message of the first message service.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first message service includes amultimedia message service.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein theshort message includes a second data portion, the second data portionincluding at least one of the following elements for defining themessage of the first message service: identification of the type ofmessage of the first message service, and a content of the message ofthe first message service.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein a userdata header of the short message includes at least a portion of theelements for defining the message of the first message service.
 21. Themethod of claim 17, wherein a header of the short message includes anidentifier for indicating a presence of the message of the first messageservice.
 22. A method for transmitting messages in a telecommunicationsnetwork including a first message service and a second message service,the method comprising: sending a dedicated, first group of messages ofthe first message service by messages of the second message service;wherein the first message service includes an MMS message serviceaccording to the 3GPP system, and the dedicated, first group of messagesof the first message service includes at least one of the followingmessages: dedicated MMS user messages, confirmation of reception of sentMMs in the relay, confirmation of success in sending MMs to other users,and acknowledgment of success/failure in delivering an MM; wherein adedicated second group of messages of the first message service is sentbetween a transmitter and a receiver using line-oriented transmission;and wherein one of the following is satisfied: (i) the first messageservice includes a multimedia message service; (ii) the short messageincludes a second data portion, the second data portion including atleast one of the following elements for defining the message of thefirst message service: identification of the type of message of thefirst message service, and a content of the message of the first messageservice; (iii) a user data header of the short message includes at leasta portion of the elements for defining the message of the first messageservice; and (iv) a header of the short message includes an identifierfor indicating a presence of the message of the first message service.23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first message service includes amultimedia message service.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein theshort message includes a second data portion, the second data portionincluding at least one of the following elements for defining themessage of the first message service: identification of the type ofmessage of the first message service, and a content of the message ofthe first message service.
 25. The method of claim 22, wherein a userdata header of the short message includes at least a portion of theelements for defining the message of the first message service.
 26. Themethod of claim 22, wherein a header of the short message includes anidentifier for indicating a presence of the message of the first messageservice.